Snap Shots

March 3, 2008

At a town hall meeting Friday in Texas, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., declared that "there's strong evidence" that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that was once in many childhood vaccines, is responsible for the increased diagnoses of autism in the U.S. -- a position in stark contrast with the view of the medical establishment.***McCain said, per ABC News' Bret Hovell, that "It's indisputable that (autism) is on the rise amongst children, the question is what's causing it. And we go back and forth and there's strong evidence that indicates that it's got to do with a preservative in vaccines."

Really John? Well lets check out what the established medical and research community has to say about this.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says "evidence from several studies examining trends in vaccine use and changes in autism frequency does not support such an association." The CDC was supported by a scientific review* by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) which concluded the "evidence favors the rejection of a causal relationship between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism."

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted a review in 1999 -- the year thimerosal was ordered to be removed from most vaccines -- and said that it "found no evidence of harm from the use of thimerosal as a vaccine preservative, other than local hypersensitivity reactions."

And a study of California Department of Developmental Services data published last month indicated that there was "an increase in autism in California despite the removal of thimerosal from most vaccines."

There is a vocal and determined group of medical researchers who dispute what the medical community says about the issue. One question they ask is why would the thimerosal have been removed from the vaccines if there was no real harm? The answer so far has been, according to the Public Health Service, "because any potential risk is of concern."

Either way the Republican nominee is stating that he at the very least isn't as sure about thimerosal than the medical community. Even further, the way he speaks about the vaccine totally masks the fact that the thimerosal is gone from almost every childhood vaccine, and has been since 1999. Now explain that John.